Author Archives: Mark Lynch

There is some aspect of the nature vs. nurture debate that applies to children as well as to dogs.

With children, there is a long-standing debate as to whether the environment in which a child is raised determines personality, character or temperament more than what is genetically determined in their DNA.

With children who are adopted as babies, or grow up with different relatives than their parents or siblings (such as by a grandmother or an uncle), it has been a fascinating study to see if human children grow up to show characteristics that are consistent with their parentage or whether the environment plays a role in “training” the child to be a certain way.

Does this debate extend to other species, such as pets like dogs? There are a number of pages that claim to offer authoritative information about dog breeds that are aggressive, but the question may sometimes come up whether the aggression is natural or nurtured, or can the aggression be nurtured out of a dog’s nature?

Whether the aggression is natural or evolved from training doesn’t seem to matter, because we have for you five of the most aggressive dog breeds as considered by many authorities. As this is compiled as a consensus from other lists, chances are these are pretty generally regarded as naturally aggressive. You might be surprised – or not – that those with small stature seem to have much bigger dog bites than their barks (or bodies, in these cases).

Dachshund

The little wiener dog? Really? Yes, believe it or not, even though dachshunds are among the smallest dogs in the world, they are quite aggressive. Upon a further thought, it makes sense – because they are so small, they are easily threatened by virtually anyone, even children. According to research, about 20 percent of all dachshunds bite a stranger at least once, while about 8 percent of them bite their master at least once.

Chihuahua

By the same logic, the Chihuahua is also a dog that is threatened by anyone that is bigger than its body. These can be extremely loyal and devoted to owners, but are prone to jealousy and will snap or bite any stranger that comes too close to an owner. Because children are generally precocious, Chihuahuas do not take well to children, though they can be socialized to them if the child is in the house first.

Jack Russell Terrier

The most famous such dog is Eddie from the long-running NBC sitcom “Frasier,” which often stole scenes without even making a noise. While it is highly trainable, it can also be very aggressive partly due to its small size. It is very active but does not play well with others, even other dogs. It does not like roughhousing, and it does not play when it bites – playtime can be dangerous as Jack Russells take any rough play as a threat.

Chow Chow

Perhaps the signature dog of China, the Chow Chow looks cute and fluffy, but these have been responsible for killing people. They are generally irritable, very territorial and very loyal and protective of their homes and masters. They can be a good security dog, but they can’t be trusted alone with other dogs or children.

German Shepherd

Perhaps the most loyal and loving dogs with its owners and family, the German Shepherd is a noble but very aggressive breed – it is popular as a K-9 member with many law-enforcement organizations, mainly because of its great sense of smell, strong loyalty to its master and its intelligence. It is highly dangerous not just because of its aggression, but because of its massive weight compared to other dogs on this list.

If you have a loved one who lives in a nursing home, you want to assume that they are going to be safe and taken care of properly. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Nursing home abuse is on the rise and you need to know what to look for and what steps to take if your loved one is being abused.

Nursing home abuse can happen on many levels, from simple neglect, to intentional killing. It is important to ask your loved ones about the treatment they are receiving and if they can’t speak, you should examine them each time you visit. One of the things you want to look for is bedsores or bruises. This might mean that your loved one is not being moved during the day or that your loved one is being hit or treated roughly.

You also want to find out of your loved one is getting all their medication on time or if they are being overmedicated to keep them quiet. A huge red flag is if your loved one suffers a serious injury while in the nursing home. This might mean that they were pushed or injured by one of the staff members.

Check to see if your loved one is losing weight or if they seem dehydrated. This could indicate that they are not being fed enough or that they are not getting enough water. Sometimes your loved one seems fine when they enter the nursing home, but they experience a sudden and rapid decline in health after being there a short time. This is often a sign of abuse.

If your loved one tells you they are being abused, listen to them. Physical abuse is one of the most common types of nursing home abuse and the patients are often hit or shaken. Some residents are even sexually abused. Sometimes the abuse is verbal and patients are often humiliated or degraded by the staff. The worst type of abuse is death and if your loved one dies in a suspicious manner, abuse could be involved.

If you think your loved one is being abused by the nursing home, it is important to get a nursing home abuse lawyer right away. Your loved one’s life is at stake and you can’t wait to act. Don’t let your loved one be hurt by the nursing home staff.

For many of us, driving forms part of our daily life. We may drive to work, do the school run, go grocery shopping or visit friends, all with the help of our trusty vehicle.

While being able to drive has an abundance of advantages, it also comes with its fair share of risks. One of these dangers is distracted driving. What is distracted driving? How can we avoid it? The guide below clearly answers these two important questions.

What Is Distracted Driving?

This term refers to any activity that takes the attention of the driver away from driving. Such activities are varied but could include the following:

It is more than evident that distracted driving covers a broad range of activities. Remember, anything that causes you to take your full attention away from driving is classified as distracted driving, even the emotional injuries suffered from a divorce.

One example to highlight the point is that of texting on your mobile. Sending or reading a message can mean you take your eyes off the road for a full 5 seconds. When travelling at even a slow speed, 5 seconds covers a lot of ground and can lead to car accidents.

How Can You Avoid Distracted Driving?

One of the key ways you can help yourself to avoid distracted driving is to consider the potential consequences. Thousands of people are killed and hundreds of thousands are injured on our roads as a direct result of distracted driving. While it is easy to presume that young drivers are the main causes for such accidents, in truth we are all prone to fall into the trap of distracted driving.

Take the time to think about the consequences that you would face if you allowed your attention to be taken off the road for even a moment. Such a reflection can strengthen your resolve to not allow any activity to potentially change your life for the worse.

Indeed, distracted driving takes in a lot of activities, in fact it covers anything at all that diverts your attention away from your task of driving. Remember, when you are behind the wheel you have one task and one task only; to have your full attention on the road. Otherwise you too may become part of the shocking figures that are related to distracted driving.

The harrowing experience of being bitten by a dog is extremely distressing. The physical injuries of a dog bite, resulting in skin tears, punctures, and or laceration are bad enough. However, such injuries can lead to infections with a particular risk of suffering from rabies when bitten by a rabid dog. So, can you make claims when you are bitten by a dog that is not yours?

There is no straightforward answer to this question. Seeking and actually receiving claims is highly dependent on the particulars of each case. The extent of the injuries notwithstanding, some people receive compensation while others do not. And when the injuries are considered, the value of compensation varies greatly (even when the extent of the injuries are the same). We will explore the issue of receiving compensation the determination of the amount of compensation to be received from dog bite injuries.

Making a successful claim depends on obtaining and providing ample evidence that the dog’s owner knew that the dog was dangerous and prone to attacking people. Alternatively, you should provide evidence that the dog owner should have known that the dog was dangerous and a danger to other people. To make a solid case or compensation, you should find out whether the dog had previously attacked someone. If so, this will build your case. There are some states that do not ascribe to the one-free-bite rule and all and any dog bite cases are treated the same. However, if you are bitten while trespassing, you will not be allowed to receive your compensation even when you are bitten in the owner’s property.

Type Of Compensation Emanating From Dog Bite Injuries

There are several claims that you can make as a result of dog bite injuries. They include:

#1. Medical Bills: The most obvious claim to make is compensation for medical bills. Such compensation covers the cost of any medication, doctor consultation services, physical therapy, counselors, and compensation for any other complication.

#2. Income Lost: This compensation is due to any lost income owing to the inability to engage in economic activities to derive an income as a result of the bite while recuperating or even after (especially when there a loss of earning capacity).

#3. Loss Of Service: This is compensation that spouses of close family members receive owning to their life being affected due to the injuries suffered by the bitten individuals. Only some states allow for such claims to be made.

#4. Pain And Suffering: This is compensation received due to eh pain and suffering. The amount received varies from state to state and from case to case.

If you are ever involved in a fire that occurred in a building, you should know that you do have legal recourse. You will be able to sue for damages that are done to you as a result of the fire. These attorneys will understand how to pursue these cases as there are many factors that may be involved. In most cases, it involves a smoke alarm that fails or the absence of smoke alarms or even a sprinkler system that could put out the fire. They will also look into the required safety equipment that should be there to determine if it was available or not. If there is a fire escape, they will look to see if it was in the best condition, or if people could actually access it at all. They will take a look at fire doors, and also see if there was proper maintenance on water heaters and furnaces. It could have been an electrical problem, but regardless of what caused the fire, they will be able to sue that company, and their insurance provider, to provide you with the settlement that you need.

The Reasons That People Sue After A Fire

The most obvious reason for suing a building owner after a fire is the damage that is done to your body. In fact, you could also sue if you were not burned but suffered from smoke inhalation. There is also the pain-and-suffering that you may have experienced trying to get out of the fire such as falling down, having portions of the building fall on you, or having to jump out of a window causing you to injure yourself. You will want to find an attorney that has represented people in these situations before and have successfully litigated leading to a settlement. You can bring pictures of the building, police reports, medical reports, and you will need to sit down with them to discuss what your options are. The bottom line is that you deserve to have your medical bills paid for, and receive some type of settlement for what you have experienced. This can only happen by finding building fire attorneys that are in your area. The responsible party for the fire will always be in the hands of the building owner, and all those associated with providing a safe place for people to either work or live.

How To Find One Of These Attorneys

Locating one of these attorneys is easy if you use the Internet. Simply search for building and department fire injury lawyers, and there will be several available. They will take all of the information that you can provide, and start to do the research that they need to do on their own. Once they are done, if it is the fault of the building owner because of their negligence, you will certainly have a case that you will win. And as always if you win, you will have a personal injury settlement that requires estate planning.

If you happen to be at a friend’s house, and you slip and fall at their home, you might wonder if you can actually sue them for damages that have been done. Although this is something that people would not typically do, it is possible that the damages that you have experience can prevent you from going to work, and will cause you to go to a doctor which can be very expensive. There is also the possibility that you may not be able to recover for many weeks or months. You will not be able to generate any income during this time. As a result of this, you may find yourself in a situation where you have no other choice but to consider the possibility of suing your friend if you slipped and fell at their home.

Is This Something That Is Easy To Do?

If you decide to do this, and you hire a lawyer to help you, they will likely sue your friend by going after the insurance company that provides them with homeowners insurance. It is also possible that they may consider legal action against your friend, and the assets that they have, in order to help you receive some type of compensation. If it can be proven that it is their fault that the slip and fall occurred, they will be liable for the damages that are done. Under the premises liability law, it is possible to look at any hazardous conditions at a home which led to the injury, allowing them to pursue legal action and file an insurance claim area

How The Premises Liability Law Works

This law will actually look at the relationship between the injured victim and the owner of the home. Lawyers will try to determine if there was negligence on the part of the homeowner. In most cases, the person that was injured was given permission to be in the home by the homeowner. If that is the case, it is their responsibility to warn you of any potential dangers that could lead to an accident. Of course, this would only pertain to conditions that they would reasonably know about, not random occurrences that could not be predicted. Your lawyer will be able to assess what has happened, and if they can, they will prove that the homeowner was negligent. At the very least, you can pursue reimbursement for the doctor or hospital bills that you will accrue as a result of your injuries. This is something that a friend would likely help you with, but if not, you may have to pursue legal action.

Have you been awarded a settlement in a personal injury lawsuit for your severe car accident injuries? Now that you have your money, you may be wondering are personal injury settlements taxable? The last thing you need is to get in trouble with the IRS because you missed a necessary tax payment.

The general rule when it comes to personal injury settlements is that the Federal government will not tax any damages that were received because of physical sickness or personal physical injuries. These are not included in the gross income of a taxpayer.

The reason for this is that personal injury damages are considered as compensation for such things as pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical bills, lost wages, attorney fees, and loss of consortium. These monies are not to be taxed as long as they are compensating for a physical sickness or personal injury.

A physical sickness is defined as one that occurred because of the negligence of another. For example, if a person is exposed to something that made them sick, damages recovered would not be taxable.

There are some exceptions to this general rule. If you receive damages that were a result of an injury caused by a breach of contract, they may be taxable if the breach of contract is why you filed a lawsuit.

If you receive punitive damages, they will be taxable. Your attorney should always ask the jury or the judge to separate any damages into punitive and compensatory awards. This means you can prove to the IRS that part of your award is not taxable.

If you have received a tax benefit on anything that relates to this case, your new settlement may be taxable. A good example is if you take a deduction for your out-of-pocket medical costs on your tax return, the monies awarded as part of the personal injury settlement for these costs will be taxable.

For the most part, any monies you receive as part of a personal injury settlement will not be taxed. It is best to check with your accountant or your lawyer to determine if you need to pay taxes on any of the monies you receive.

When a pedestrian is involved in an accident, sometimes it is not the fault of the person. They can be struck by a person driving that is not paying attention, perhaps checking their text messages or emails on their phone. They may also strike a pedestrian unknowingly, caused by a distraction from another driver, or glare on their windshield. Not all accidents are preventable, but there are many that occur due to the negligence of both the driver and also the pedestrian. Let’s look at the most common causes for most pedestrian accidents and what can be done to prevent them. We will also look at what a pedestrian can do in order to sue to receive a settlement for injuries sustained.

The Most Common Reasons Pedestrians Are Struck By Vehicles

Most pedestrians are struck by vehicles in the city, specifically on curbs and in crosswalks. A driver that is not paying attention to who is in the crosswalk, or who is running a red light, can strike and injure a person. It is becoming more common for drivers to text while driving, contributing to thousands of additional accidents like this every year. They may also be speeding, driving under the influence, or simply not paying attention to their surroundings when suddenly they have hit a pedestrian. Conversely, pedestrians can be at fault because they are staring at their cell phone, perhaps talking or even playing a game. Smartphones and tablet computers have literally made us more oblivious to our outer surroundings, and this can be very dangerous when you are walking so close to traffic.

How To Get Compensation If You Are Hit By A Driver.

If you are hit by a driver, and it is not your fault, you can always find some way to sue for a settlement. There are lawyers that specialize in pedestrian accidents, and they will be more than willing to hear your case. If you were not at fault, and you are struck by a drunk driver, someone speeding, or texting on their phone, this is something they can help you with right away. You will need to compare the different attorneys that provide this service, and once you do, you will know exactly who to choose to file a lawsuit on your behalf in order to get compensation.

The easiest way to find the best attorney or law firm that can represent pedestrians is to simply search for pedestrian lawyers in your area. Look at the reviews they have received, set appointments with multiple attorneys, and choose one that you believe will provide you with the best representation for your case.

One of the most popular trends in the tobacco industry is the use of electronic cigarettes. They have made it possible for many people to quit smoking, and they are very easy to use. This technology uses batteries which are rechargeable, something that can be done with an outlet or they can plug into your computer. However, some of them have been known to explode, and when this happens, it can cause substantial damage to the person that is using this product. Some people have sustained significant burns because the explosions have happened while using the device, or even while it is in their pocket. If this has happened to you, you might wonder if you could file a lawsuit if you are ever injured by an exploding e- cigarette, it’s not like something serious such as a motorcycle accident, so do I even have rights?

Can You File A Lawsuit For This?

If you have sustained significant damage, or even minor injuries, from an exploding electronic cigarette, you do have legal recourse. In fact, multiple lawsuits have been filed in some of the largest states including New York, California, and Florida. People have reported that the device exploded, causing burns, dental damage, and a multitude of other problems. Some of the biggest lawsuits were against companies like Kangertech, IPV and Sigelei. The reason that they explode has to do with a problem with the charging mechanism of the lithium-ion battery, something very similar to all of the problems that iPhone and Samsung users have had with these rechargeable batteries in their devices. You can file a lawsuit by contacting one of the many lawyers that are representing the hundreds of people that have experienced this problem.

What Information Will They Need From You?

They are going to need pictures of the actual device that exploded. Pictures should also include the damage that was done to you. You should go to a doctor, which is something that you would automatically do after you are injured, and get the final medical report which can be used as evidence. Once you have all of this, you will then contact an attorney that has represented other people before. They can look at your case, and based upon the evidence that you present, they can start the legal process of suing the company that manufactured the product in order to help pay for your pain, suffering, and damages caused by your electronic cigarette.

One of the most common sources of injuries and even deaths are car accidents. In 2012, there were over 5.6 million car accidents in the United States and a reported 1.6 million of these resulted in injuries. Cars are necessary for daily life since they allow you to travel from one point to another in a relatively short space of time. However, as you can see, they are quite dangerous and can lead to a wide range of injuries. So, we will now take a closer look at the different types of possible injuries.

Head injuries are one of the more common and serious injuries that can occur during an accident. These injuries typically occur when there is a high speed collision and the passengers or driver, hit their heads on the dashboard, steering wheel or windows. Some common issues that occur due to this type of trauma include skull fractures, concussions, hearing loss, vision loss and you can even go into a coma and suffer from permanent brain damage or cognitive problems.

Back injuries are also common and if there is damage to the spinal cord, this can lead to nerve damage. Some people may experience a reduction of feeling in their arms, legs, feet and other parts of their body as well as a loss of movement. Serious spinal injury can lead to permanent paralysis which is life altering. Herniated discs are another common back injury that will take a significant amount of time to heal.

Neck and chest injuries are also very common. Whiplash can occur which is when there is a very sudden movement of the head and neck. The severity of the whiplash would depend on the impact of the collision as well as the general health and muscular strength of that person. General neck pain and swelling is also common and some people even experience temporary vocal cord paralysis.

Blunt force trauma in accidents can cause chest issues such as collapsed lungs and broken ribs. If you have pre-existing heart problems, you might go into cardiac arrest and even suffer from a heart attack. There is also the possibility of damage to the internal organs, pelvis and abdomen.

In closing, car accidents can cause some very severe injuries and if you or someone you care about has been involved in one, you should think about seeking the advice of an attorney. They will evaluate your case and injuries and help determine whether you are owed money to cover the costs caused by the injuries.